Oakland beats IUPUI as Travis Bader scores 47 points

ROCHESTER — After being held to just four second-half points in a stunning loss to South Dakota last week, Oakland sharp-shooter Travis Bader dejectedly said that night’s opponent had gotten into his head. After Thursday’s career-high 47-point night where he broke his own school record for 3s in a game with 11, he regretted his choice of words.

“That was probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever said,” Bader said. “I’m the only person that can get in my head. … I just came out here shooting and did what I do in practice.

“My teammates did a great job of finding me open tonight.”

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Bader led the Golden Grizzlies (9-13, 4-4 Summit) to a resounding 89-71 victory over last-place IUPUI at the O’rena. He broke his own school record of 10 3-pointers set last season at home against conference rival South Dakota State. The mark also ties a Summit League record and his 47 points set a new Division I-era school record for points scored in a single game and is the highest single-game total at the Division I level in the nation this season.

Oakland coach Greg Kampe understood why Bader made his previous remarks, as it was indicative of the Grizzlies’ state of mind after a 19-point home court loss to second-year Summit League rival South Dakota. The defeat was Oakland’s second-worst home court loss to a conference opponent.

“I was very angry at him for saying that,” Kampe said. “That just told me the whole mindset of our basketball team. Mentally, we were in a fog. As a coaching staff, we had to reshape that thinking.”

Oakland guard Duke Mondy, who didn’t start for the first time this season, came off the bench to score 11 points and five assists and five steals. Backcourt mate Ryan Bass had a career-high nine assists to go with six points, and Corey Petros had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Grizzlies led by as many as 26 points, outscoring IUPUI, 26-11, to start the second half and take a 63-37 lead with 12:20 to play.

“We’re playing a team that isn’t really deep,” Kampe said. “We knew they were going to wear down. We tried to increase the tempo in the second half.”

The Jaguars did cut the lead to 11 points with 6:48 to play before Oakland outscored them, 17-10 to close the game.

Oakland defeated IUPUI by 22 points, their largest victory in conference play, late last month.

The Jaguars took a two-point lead, their only advantage, with 13:07 to play in the first half. After the Grizzlies slowly built a nine-point advantage, IUPUI crawled back within three points at 26-23 with 4:57 remaining in the first. Oakland outscored IUPUI, 11-3, to close the half with an 11-point halftime advantage, 37-26.

The Jaguars (6-17, 1-8) were led by Sean Esposito’s 21 points. Donovan Gibbs added 15 for IUPUI, which shot 54 percent from the floor in the loss. The Grizzlies shot 55 percent from the field and outrebounded the Jaguars, 37-18.

Oakland hosts Summit League co-leader Western Illinois (8-1) for Saturday’s Homecoming game, when Kampe, in his 29th year, will be aiming for his 500th career victory, all of which coming at Oakland.

The Leathernecks are one of the nation’s best defensive teams, allowing just 52.1 points per game.

“We’ve been very good in this building for many years,” Kampe said. “I don’t think we can say that 29-minute aberration of the other day … it was a slap in the face, and we handled it. I expect to win every time we step on the court in this building.

“We’re used to winning here and we believe we can’t be beat here.”

Saturday’s game tips off at 5:05 p.m. and can be seen on Fox Sports Detroit.